Software QA/Testing Technical FAQs

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What metrics are used for bug tracking?
Metrics that can be used for bug tracking include the followings: the total number of bugs, total number of bugs that have been fixed, number of new bugs per week, and the number of fixes per week. Metrics for bug tracking can be used to determine when to stop testing, for example, when bug rate falls below a certain level. You CAN learn to use defect tracking software.

1. In QA team, everyone talks about process. What exactly they are taking about?
2. Are there any different type of process?

Answer1:
When you talk about "process" you are generally talking about the actions used to accomplish a task.
Here's an example: How do you solve a jigsaw puzzle?
You start with a box full of oddly shaped pieces. In your mind you come up with a strategy for matching two pieces together (or no strategy at all and simply grab random pieces until you find a match), and continue on until the puzzle is completed.
If you were to describe the *way* that you go about solving the puzzle you would be describing the process.
Some follow-up questions you might think about include things like:
- How much time did it take you to solve the puzzle?
- Do you know of any skills, tricks or practices that might help you solve the puzzle quicker?
- What if you try to solve the puzzle with someone else? Does that help you go faster, or slower? (why or why not?) Can you have *too* many people on this one task?
- To answer your second question, I'll ask *you* the question: Are there different ways that people can solve a jigsaw puzzle?
There are many interesting process-related questions, ideas and theories in Quality Assurance. Generally the identification of workplace processes lead to the questions of improvement in efficiency and productivity. The motivation behind that is to try and make the processes as efficient as possible so as to incur the least amount of time and expense, while providing a general sense of repeatability, visibility and predictability in the way tasks are performed and completed.
The idea behind this is generally good, but the execution is often flawed. That is what makes QA so interesting. You see, when you work with people and processes, it is very different than working with the processes performed by machines. Some people in QA forget that distinction and often become disillusioned with the whole thing.
If you always remember to approach processes in the workplace with a people-centric view, you should do fine.

What metrics are used for test report generation?
Metrics that can be used for test report generation include...
McCabe metrics: cyclomatic complexity metric (v(G)), actual complexity metric (AC), module design complexity metric (iv(G)), essential complexity metric (ev(G)), pathological complexity metric (pv(G)), design complexity metric (S0), integration complexity metric (S1), object integration complexity metric (OS1), global data complexity metric (gdv(G)), data complexity metric (DV), tested data complexity metric (TDV), data reference metric (DR), tested data reference metric (TDR), maintenance severity metric (maint_severity), data reference severity metric (DR_severity), data complexity severity metric (DV_severity), global data severity metric (gdv_severity).
McCabe object-oriented software metrics: encapsulation percent public data (PCTPUB), access to public data (PUBDATA), polymorphism percent of unoverloaded calls (PCTCALL), number of roots (ROOTCNT), fan-in (FANIN), quality maximum v(G) (MAXV), maximum ev(G) (MAXEV), and hierarchy quality (QUAL).
Other object-oriented software metrics: depth (DEPTH), lack of cohesion of methods (LOCM), number of children (NOC), response for a class (RFC), weighted methods per class (WMC), Halstead software metrics program length, program volume, program level and program difficulty, intelligent content, programming effort, error estimate, and programming time.
Line count software metrics: lines of code, lines of comment, lines of mixed code and comments, and lines left blank.

What is quality plan?

Answer1:
the test plan is the document created before starting the testing process, it includes that types of testing that will be performed, high level scope of the project, the envirnmental requirements of the testing process, what automated testing tools will be used (If available), the schedule of each test, when it will start and end.

Answer2:
you should not only understand what a Quality Plan is, but you should understand why you're making it. I don't beleieve that "because I was told to do so" is a good enough reason. If the person who told you to create it can't tell you 1) what it is, and 2) how to create it, I don't think that they actually know why it's needed. That breaks the primary rule of all plans used in testing:
We write quality plans for two very different purposes. Sometimes the quality plan is a product; sometimes it's a tool. It's too easy, but also too expensive, to confuse these goals.
If it's not being used as a tool, don't waste your time (and your company's money) doing this.

What is the difference between verification and validation?
Verification takes place before validation, and not vice versa.
Verification evaluates documents, plans, code, requirements, and specifications. Validation, on the other hand, evaluates the product itself.
The inputs of verification are checklists, issues lists, walkthroughs and inspection meetings, reviews and meetings. The input of validation, on the other hand, is the actual testing of an actual product.
The output of verification is a nearly perfect set of documents, plans, specifications, and requirements document. The output of validation, on the other hand, is a nearly perfect, actual product.

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